Everybody knows rich and famous Hollywood actors and popstars. Nobody knows a consistently profitable short-term trader, simply because they don't exist at all. The more auditions they go, aspiring actors or singers get more chance of success. The more traders trade, the LESS chances they got, because they have to recover their previous losses.
Sounds like you haven't made any money and are very frustrated. Everyone has been there at one time or another. Over trading is a completely different matter. To make the blanket statement that one cannot make money trading short term is false.
this is not one of your more thought-provoking threads.... how can you say 'nobody knows'? Also, trading is done in private, not on the silver screen so by nature the actors are more famous. And that's the beautiful thing about trading. I want the money, and none of the BS that comes with fame. Not having to deal with fame makes trading more attractive than being a famous actor, even if the odds are as stacked as you say.
how many times we have to go back to this here- http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=195083&perpage=6&pagenumber=8
I'm responding to this because traders just starting out shouldn't be told that it's impossible to be a successful day trader. Difficult, yes. Impossible, no. I've been trading for a living for 18 years. First as an equities swing trader, then an options trader, and the last ten years or so as a futures day trader. It can be done. I've done it, and I know others who have done the same. Most traders just starting out don't last long enough to learn the game. They dabble. They waste endless months and dollars experimenting with useless indicators. They do all the wrong things until they burn through their money and quit. Here's a dose of reality: most traders starting out aren't committed to LEARNING TO TRADE. They're just taken in by the fantasy of turning their computer into an ATM machine. It's true that 90+% fail, but that doesn't mean that everybody fails. A neighbor of mine is a movie producer. He recently told me that there are only about 25 "bankable" movie stars in the entire world. There are far more than 25 successful traders. I believe that your chances of becoming a successful trader are much greater than your chances of becoming a movie star.
It is so extremely unlikely you'll make money that it is not worth trying. You may make money: For a very limited time, due to luck only Then the big blowup comes, 100% sure Send me your account statements for the last 7 years. Please sign them, as they will be audited. If fake, you go to jail. You said you have been a futures day trader for 10 years, right? Send me your SIGNED account statements for the whole 10 years.